Providence
by SouthSideStory
Summary: He's dreamed about finding the girl with a sun marked on her right palm since he was old enough to understand what soulscars were. For a boy whose mother was loneliness, the idea of a soulmate—a person meant to love him, to be his family—was impossible for Naruto to ignore. (Soulmates AU. SasuSaku and NaruHina.)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

Sasuke likes to examine the mark in the middle of his left palm: a crescent, rich red, like a blood moon. His parents say he was born with it, which means his mate is older than him. He wonders whether the gap is only a span of a few weeks or months, or if the girl he's meant for is already grown. Soulscars don't care about age differences, or gender, or nationality.

Most people have a single mark, but every once in awhile a person will develop two, more, or none. Itachi still doesn't have one, and half the clan has taken to betting on whether a soulscar will ever appear on him at all.

Sasuke's is completely normal, utterly average. It's on his hand, a common place for someone's mark to appear, and the color is typical too. He doesn't have anything unusual, not like his cousin Saiyuri, whose feather-shaped scar is white, the rarest shade of all. Even so, there's only one other mark in the world that's precisely like his, and it belongs to the girl he's meant to be with forever.

Sometimes he's curious about his mate, but for the most part Sasuke is jealous of his brother, who has no scar, no destiny laid out for him. He has the freedom to choose.

* * *

Sakura's soulscar appeared when she was four months old, on July twenty-third, sometime in the early hours of the morning. That must have been the moment when her soulmate was born, when he first drew breath. So every year, on that date, Sakura thinks of her mystery boy and wishes him a happy birthday.

She starts at the Academy the spring she turns seven years old. The first thing she and her classmates do during their recess is compare soulscars—all but a handsome boy named Sasuke who stands off to the side, arms stubbornly crossed over his chest. A bold, blonde girl marches right up to him and asks to see his mark anyway.

Sasuke frowns at her, says, "No," and walks back inside of the Academy.

Shikamaru holds up his right arm, so that she can see the blue figure-eight just above his elbow and asks, "Where's yours?"

"Here," Sakura says, and she opens her hand for him to see the soulscar imprinted on the middle of her palm.

Shikamaru just nods, then runs off to see if Hinata's mark matches his own.

It doesn't, though, because to everybody's surprise, the Hyuuga girl's soulmate is Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

He's dreamed about finding the girl with a sun marked on her right palm since he was old enough to understand what soulscars were. For a boy whose mother was loneliness, the idea of a soulmate—a person meant to love him, to be his _family_ —was impossible for Naruto to ignore.

Now he's found her, and it doesn't matter, because the Hyuuga Clan is notorious for disregarding soulscars and marrying only other men and women with their dojutsu. They prioritize keeping their bloodline pure and their kekkei genkai intact over such trivial things as love and fate.

Besides, even if Hyuuga Hiashi would have allowed his eldest child to marry outside of their clan, he would never make such an exception for Naruto. The whole village despises him, and he can only think, after Hiashi-san tells him to stay away from his daughter, that he's simply not meant to be loved.

* * *

"You will not even speak to that boy," her father orders. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Otousan," Hinata says, obedient as always. Not that he cares how closely she follows the rules; she'll always be a disappointment.

Not like her little sister. Two-year-old Hanabi has already learned to activate her fledgling byakugan, a skill that Hinata didn't acquire until last year. Otousan brags that, with such a powerful dojutsu already, she'll undoubtedly become a prodigy of their clan.

Hinata can't help but notice that her parents' soulscars do not match. Her mother's is an inky oval on the inside of her right wrist, while Otousan's mark stretches across his left shoulder in the shape of a pale snake, almost the same shade as his skin.

She doesn't know until that spring that the color of Okaasan's soulscar is significant. That it was once a vibrant green, but when she was fifteen the mark on her wrist turned black. This, Hinata learns, only happens when your soulmate dies.

* * *

Sasuke is easily the most skilled ninja-in-training at the Academy, and this draws the attention of his instructors and classmates alike. The boys are jealous of him and the girls follow him around, stealing covert looks when they think he isn't paying attention, trying to figure out what his soulscar is. No one's going to see it, though, because Sasuke wears fingerless gloves every day, so that his mark is always kept covered.

He's been at the Academy for a week when Iruka-sensei asks a difficult math question that stumps the class. Only Sakura raises her hand, and it's then that Sasuke sees the mark on her left palm: a crimson crescent moon identical to his own.

 _That can't be right_. He can hardly think of anyone less like himself than Haruno Sakura, the shy, insecure girl who gets picked on by their classmates.

Except something about it makes a strange sort of sense. The first day he saw her he felt an odd pull in her direction, an interest in her that he couldn't quite explain.

Sasuke keeps this to himself. He'll tell her eventually, he decides. Just not yet, because he isn't ready to belong to someone else.

* * *

Sakura studies her soulscar by the starlight streaming in through her window. It's late, and she's supposed to be asleep, but she can't stop looking at the mark on her hand. It's such a small, simple thing to carry so much meaning, her fate branded into her skin. She thinks about who her soulmate could be, where he lives, when (or if) she'll find him. Not everyone has the opportunity to meet their partner, after all. Sakura knows who she _wants_ her mate to be, but chances are that Sasuke will never have any reason to notice her.

The next day, when she goes to school, Sasuke's seat is empty. Once everyone else is there, Iruka-sensei tells the class to settle down, then says, "You won't be seeing Sasuke for a few days, but when he comes back I want everyone to give him some space."

"Why's Sasuke-kun gone?" asks Ino, pouting.

Iruka-sensei runs a weary hand over his face and says, "There was an incident with the Uchiha Clan. There's not much I can tell you, other than it has been a very sad night, for the village, and especially for Sasuke. He's going to need a lot of time to recover."

When Sakura goes home, her mother and father sit her down and ask her what she heard about Sasuke in school today.

"Iruka-sensei said something bad happened with Sasuke-kun's family. Should I bring him flowers?" she asks. "That might make him feel better."

Her parents share the sort of knowing, serious look that tells her something is very wrong. "I don't think flowers are going to help Sasuke much right now, Sakura," Otousan says softly. "He lost his whole clan last night."

Sakura frowns and asks, "Lost?"

Okaasan sighs. "Sakura, you know how you lost Spotty last year? Do you remember what I told you about that?"

She nods. When her puppy went to sleep and didn't wake up, she asked her mother what it meant to be dead, and Okaasan had said, voice gentle, "It means you're gone, and there's no way to come back."

Sakura is not quite eight, and it takes a moment for her to understand what her parents are telling her. Then she gasps, covers her mouth, and feels tears coming to her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun's whole family is gone?" she asks.

Okaasan takes her in her arms and rubs circles on her back, just like she always does when Sakura is upset or sick. "Yes," she whispers. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

That night, Sakura lies awake in bed, thinking of Sasuke. It seems so wrong that he's all alone in the world. She wonders where he'll live and who will take care of him now that he has no parents or brother.

Sasuke's desk remains empty for the rest of the week, but he returns to the Academy on Monday. He's dressed as he usually is, in a dark, short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha crest emblazoned on the back, fingerless gloves on his hands. But there's an emptiness in his eyes that wasn't there before, a coldness in his rare speech and stiff posture that's nothing like the Sasuke of only five days ago.

Iruka-sensei told the class not to give Sasuke their condolences or acknowledge what happened to his family in any way, so Sakura doesn't say what she wants to, which is that she's sorry this happened to him and she hopes he's going to be okay.

* * *

Publicly, Otousan says that what happened to the Uchiha Clan is a great tragedy, but privately, he tells Hinata it's no less than their arrogant cousin-clan deserved.

 _That's awful_ , she thinks, but doesn't say.

Sometimes, when no one's looking, Hinata will trace the golden sun on her palm, thinking about Naruto. He's a brave, brash boy who never gives up, regardless of how many times he fails, and she can't help but quietly admire him. He's rude and reckless, an orphan boy who's lived without rules for so long that he doesn't know how to respect anybody, but these things don't matter to Hinata. She finds him beautiful, from his messy blonde hair and sky blue eyes to the strange marks on his cheeks.

She doesn't dare say this to her cousins because all of them are loyal to Otousan before anyone else. Hinata doesn't blame them for this, though; the Branch House has been bred and conditioned to obey her father.

When Okaasan misses dinner, Hinata goes looking for her. She isn't in her garden or her bedroom (separate from Otousan's ever since Hanabi was born), the reading room or the kitchen. She would use her byakugan to see through the walls, but there is an unspoken rule in their household never to violate one another's privacy in this way.

Then she opens her mother's bathroom door, and the sight on the other side is one Hinata will never forget.

Okaasan lies in a tub of red water, her long, lustrous hair pinned up on top of her head. She could be sleeping, except her chest doesn't rise and fall with the cadence of breathing, and her face is stiff and colorless. Hinata touches her mother's cheek and finds her skin cold. Vaguely, in some distant way, she notes that Okaasan's wrists have been slit (cutting right through her black soulscar), and a bloody razor is still gripped in her right hand.

She doesn't wail, and she doesn't cry. Instead, Hinata kisses her mother's bare forehead, on the seal that marked her as Branch House, and walks downstairs to tell her father that Okaasan is dead.

* * *

Naruto's Academy years are lonely and long. He convinces Iruka-sensei to let him take the graduation test early, hoping to become a genin and get out of the school that he hates, but he fails the exam not once, but twice. After that he decides to wait until everyone is tested and try his luck then.

His days are full of learning jutsu he has trouble mastering and grammar, history, and mathematics that are too boring to bother with. He has a hard time sitting still and paying attention, and besides, what use is book-learning to a ninja? At night, he goes home to his empty apartment, microwaves a cup of ramen for dinner, struggles through his homework, plays a board game by himself, and goes to sleep.

Every now and then he studies the mark on his right palm and thinks of the girl he's supposed to love but will never know. Hinata is pretty in a subtle, gentle way. Kind, quiet, and thoughtful. Something about being in her presence makes him feel just a little less alone, but it's rare for them to have a moment together.

The spring he's twelve years old, Naruto fails the graduation exam for the third time, discovers what he is—a jinchuriki, a vessel for a nine-tailed monster—and is assigned to Team 7. He doesn't much like his squadmates at first. Sakura gets easily frustrated with him and always hits him upside the head, and Sasuke is a bastard who's so good at everything that Naruto can't stand him.

But things change after the Wave Country. Sasuke almost dies saving Naruto's life, and he truly feels the chakra of the Kyubi overtake him. There's a bond forged between the three of them and Kakashi-sensei now, something immutable that neither time nor distance can ever break.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** So this is the soulmates AU I've been working on. I read a glorious Zutara oneshot called "oracle bones" by sohhng on AO3 (which I highly recommend) and I was inspired to write this story. I expect that Providence is going to be a short-ish multi-chap, maybe 20k words before all is said and done. But that's just my best guess.

Many thanks to DeepPoeticGirl for pre-reading this and brainstorming with me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Sasuke never looks at his soulscar anymore, and he rarely thinks on it. There's no need, not when he's dedicated himself to vengeance. Love is a weakness he cannot afford to indulge in, a distraction that might tempt him to take a different path.

Because it _is_ tempting, sometimes. When Sakura smiles in the soft way that is specifically reserved for him, gets close enough that he can smell the vanilla shampoo on her shell pink hair, or simply hooks her arm through his. Save for her unsubtle attention, it has been four years since anyone touched Sasuke with affection. The only contact he has these days is during combat. He may be a ninja, but even Sasuke grows tired of only ever being touched in violence. So when Sakura is bold enough to take his hand, his stomach flips and his heart races at the sensation of skin against skin. In those moments, he's reminded that there's a mark on her left palm that's a twin to his own, a brand that means she's his match.

It would be easy, he thinks, to fall in love with Sakura. She's bright and warm, kind and beautiful, the sort of girl any intelligent boy would consider a catch. She isn't perfect, of course—sometimes she's snobby, ungrateful, temperamental—but considering his own flaws, Sasuke doesn't think he has much right to judge Sakura for hers.

Yes, it would be easy to love her, and this is exactly why he needs to push away those feelings before they can take root and convince him to abandon his purpose. To try to live something like a normal life.

So today (after they've picked up their payment for their last mission), when she looks in his direction, blushing, Sasuke forces himself to ignore her. He pretends that he doesn't see the endearing flush on her cheeks.

"Let's get something to eat!" Naruto says. "I'm starving."

"No way," he says. "I've had all that I can stand of you today." This might be half a lie, but there's enough truth in it for Sasuke not to care.

Naruto glares at him. "Like I give a shit."

"Idiot," Sasuke says, casually and calmly as breathing.

"Bastard," Naruto hisses.

Sakura rolls her eyes, probably too used to the inevitability of their fights to bother interfering.

After a few more insults about his teammate's intelligence (or lack thereof), Naruto cusses him colorfully, gives him the finger, and stalks off.

"You guys don't have to be so nasty to each other all the time," Sakura says.

She follows him down Main Street, staying close enough that their shoulders brush with every few steps. He'd expected her to go away when Naruto did, but that was a stupid assumption, because Sakura can stick like a bur when she wants to. (This should probably bother him more than it does.)

"Where are you headed?" he asks.

"Nowhere," Sakura says, and her blush spreads from her cheeks to her neck. "I just thought I'd walk with you, if you don't mind."

There are a half-dozen things he could tell Sakura that would get rid of her, no doubt, but for some reason he can't bring himself to say any of them. Being mean to Naruto is second nature, but that's because he knows none of their arguments ever really hurts the idiot. Sakura is different. She cares what he thinks, and whenever he loses his temper and speaks harshly to her, he regrets it.

He lets her follow him all the way to his apartment. She hesitates at his door and asks, "Um, can I come in?"

Sasuke shrugs, as if it doesn't matter one way or another, and holds the door open for her.

The assignment they just returned from was a long escort mission all the way to the northern border of the Fire Country, and they were gone for a week, so his apartment is a little dustier than he would like. Otherwise, it's perfectly neat. Spartan even. Habit takes over, and he takes off his shoes and gloves.

Sakura looks around his living room, smiling, and says, "I'm pretty organized, but not like this. You could perform surgery in here, Sasuke-kun."

He can't tell whether she's impressed or making fun of him. Maybe it's a bit of both.

"Do you want something to drink?" It's a question that his mother always asked of guests, and it comes to his lips automatically.

"Water would be nice," Sakura says.

He pours her a cup from the pitcher of filtered water he keeps in his fridge and gives it to her.

She drops the glass. It shatters on his perfectly polished hardwood floor and water spills everywhere. He frowns and starts to ask what's wrong, because it isn't like Sakura to be clumsy, when he notices that she's staring at his hand. His bare, left hand, where a soulscar just like hers is perfectly visible.

* * *

Sakura came to the realization just yesterday that she no longer cares who her soulmate is, because she loves Sasuke, and she'd rather have him than whoever the fates slated her to be with.

Now she's looking at a mark identical to her own, a crescent moon, imprinted on Sasuke's left palm, and Sakura can barely breathe. For a moment, she feels nothing but a pure, wild happiness, unthinking and uncomplicated.

 _He's my soulmate._

Sasuke closes his hand into a tight fist, as if hiding the scar will make her forget what she's seen.

"You're my match," Sakura says, breathless. She walks around the broken glass on the floor, puts her hand on his arm, and looks up at him.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke says coolly.

" _What?_ " Sakura asks. "Of course it matters! Why would you say that?"

He takes a step backward, breaking the contact between them. "Do you know what happened to my clan?" he asks.

She wants to soften her words, but there's no gentle way to answer this, so she says, quietly, "Someone killed them."

"Not _someone_ ," Sasuke says, and now she hears a powerful force in his voice. A fury that far eclipses typical anger, a hatred as deep as the sea. "I know who did it, and I'm going to kill him."

She can understand his rage, of course, and his loathing too—but this shinobi, whoever he is, had the skill to murder every man, woman, and child of Konoha's strongest clan, save Sasuke. As much as she has faith in his abilities, Sakura can't help but wonder whether Sasuke even means to survive this fight.

"If I'm going to avenge my clan, I can't waste time on unimportant things," he says.

Sakura recoils. "I'm unimportant to you?" she asks, voice small.

Sasuke sighs, clearly frustrated, and says, "I didn't mean it like that, Sakura."

Anger overcomes her hurt feelings, and she says, "You should have told me. Even if you don't want me for a partner, I deserve to know who my mate is, and you know it."

He says nothing, perhaps because she's hit on the truth.

Sakura leaves, hurries out of his apartment and onto the Konoha streets, doing her best to hold back tears. If she'd stayed in that room one moment longer she would have cried, and she doesn't want to cry over this. Over him.

Fate has played some cruel trick on Sakura, pairing her with Sasuke, promising that they're destined to love one another, only for him to reject her anyway.

The next few weeks are difficult and slow. Sakura tries to behave normally, but she can't bring herself to act the same around Sasuke. When he turns thirteen she wishes him a happy birthday, but she doesn't get him a gift, as she'd originally planned. She stops flirting, and as much as she wants to feel the warmth of his skin, Sakura makes sure they never touch outside of sparring.

Team 7 spends most of the summer carrying out ridiculous, low-paying D-rank missions that seem trivial next to their experience in the Wave Country. Naruto constantly demands more challenging assignments, and for once, he and Sasuke are in agreement about something. Sakura keeps out of it, keeps her head low.

Then, as August winds down, Kakashi-sensei signs their team up for the chunin exams. Sakura passes the written test easily, and on the first day of September, all nine of the rookies show up at the Forty-Fourth Training Ground for the second exam.

The Forest of Death turns out to be a nightmare. She's scared and alone, and Sakura has never felt weaker than when that kunoichi from Sound grabs her by her long hair and berates her. She pulls her kunai and cuts her way out of her enemy's grasp. Pink strands scatter to the wind, but Sakura doesn't care, because she's free.

This only lasts a little while, though. Zaku overcomes her, but still, she's not going to give up. She won't let him hurt her boys, even if he beats her senseless. Sakura takes blow after blow to the face, and each one makes her world spin, until finally he knocks her off of him.

When Sasuke wakes, she turns toward him, happy to see him standing on his own two feet. But that joy is short-lived, because an unusual chakra swirls around him, and she can feel the darkness of it, ominous and powerful, not at all like the Sasuke she knows. Slowly, he straightens, steps forward, and strange marks burn their way along the left side of his body, like some quick spreading disease. This is not the boy she loves; this is some monster wearing his skin, and nothing in her life has ever scared her half this much.

"Sakura, who did this to you?" he asks, and even his voice is wrong, laced with some malice she's never heard there before. "Who was it?"

Sakura doesn't dare answer, because she knows that if Sasuke gets his hands on Zaku he'll tear him apart.

She's right about that. The fight is short, and in the end, Sasuke taunts Zaku, makes him beg for mercy before he breaks his bones—effortless violence, remorseless, as vindictive as it is vicious. And the worst part is that he _smiles_ while he does it.

Sasuke casts Zaku aside, limp as a puppet with its string cut, and turns to the only remaining Sound ninja, that awful smile still playing about his handsome mouth.

 _Whoever that is, it's not Sasuke._

Sakura's weeping, terrified as much _for_ Sasuke as _of_ him, and she sprints forward and wraps him in her arms. Holds him close, her body pressed against his back, and pleas with him to stop. He's burning up, like he's sick with some hideous fever, and when he looks at her over his shoulder, she sees nothing familiar in those red eyes.

In a heartbeat, something changes: the sharingan crimson fades back to the beautiful black she's come to love, and the marks on his body recede, then disappear entirely.

* * *

Hinata recuperates at home after the chunin exams. Otousan seems torn between disappointment and worry over her condition, while Neji hovers in her periphery, his expression weighted with guilt. He nearly killed her over the sins of their fathers, and perhaps she ought to hate him for this, but Hinata can't find it in herself to be upset with Neji. She understands his resentment, his fury; he's a bird who was never meant to be caged.

She rarely indulges in thoughts of her mother. For the most part, Hinata carries on as if Okaasan is simply gone, had never existed. This is easier than remembering the sweet smell of her lilac perfume, the soft timbre of her rare laugh. How she looked while pregnant, belly rounded with her second child. (How she looked dead, in a bathtub full of scarlet water.)

Sometimes Hinata dreams that she's floating on her back in the Naka River, only the water is red with blood, _her_ blood. Those are the nights when she wakes sweating and terrified, and she has to turn on a lamp and hold out her arms underneath the yellow light to assure herself that she isn't bleeding from slit wrists.

Other times, she dreams that the seal which marks members of the Branch House is branded onto her forehead, and Hanabi is promoted to Head of Hyuuga over her. This is less a senseless nightmare than it is a prediction, she thinks. Her father's disappointment in her seems to deepen every day, while his pride in her little sister only grows. He wishes that Hinata had been the secondborn. She can see it in his face.

On the first day that she finally feels well enough to go out on her own, Hinata takes a walk by the Naka River. (Its water is decidedly muddy brown, not red.) The day couldn't be more beautiful, sunny and bright, with fluffy white clouds drifting across the great expanse of blue sky.

She finds Naruto sitting on the bank, shoes off, orange pants rolled up to just below his knees, his feet in the water. He looks at her, smiles, and waves. It would be rude not to at least wave back, she decides, but somehow Hinata ends up sitting next to this boy she's been forbidden to speak to.

"Won't you get in trouble for this?" Naruto asks.

"Not if Otousan doesn't know," she says softly. It feels treacherous to even say, and she's suddenly anxious that her father will appear out of nowhere and drag her home.

Naruto grins, wide and bright, and says, "I didn't know you had some rebel in you, Hinata-chan."

From him that's something like a compliment, and she feels herself blushing, a hot flush that covers her whole face and neck. _I must look like a tomato_ , Hinata thinks, and that only makes her more embarrassed.

"You're really red," Naruto says, in that frank, almost-rude way he has. "Are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine," Hinata says, and she wants to slap herself for stuttering in this moment of all moments, when she and Naruto finally have some privacy.

He holds up his right hand, so that she can see the golden sun imprinted there, and says, "So, we're soulmates."

Naruto really isn't the sort to mince words. He says what he thinks without reservation (and sometimes without thought), a quality that she can't possibly imagine possessing. From a young age she was always taught not to speak unless spoken to, and when allowed to express herself, to choose her words carefully.

Hinata nods, and she can't help but smile a little. "We are."

They discuss missions and the chunin exams, their teams and senseis. Naruto does most of the talking, but he always stops and invites Hinata to speak, asks her questions and encourages her to say more, if she wants, but they do not talk about the family he doesn't have or the clan she's bound to. Their conversation lasts for so long that the bright day fades to a pink and purple sunset, and Naruto says, "You should probably get home before somebody comes looking for you."

"Yeah," Hinata says. "I should."

She stays a moment longer anyway, makes no move to leave, and Naruto takes her hand in his. His fingers and palms are rough with callouses, and Hinata can feel the power that lurks beneath his gentle grip. _That's Naruto through and through_ , she thinks. Strength concealed by kindness.

* * *

After the day they spent together by the Naka River, Naruto and Hinata start to see each other. They meet in secluded meadows, unpopular restaurants, and his own apartment. Just to talk, hold hands, and enjoy each other's company.

He can see it now, how Hinata is the girl he's fated to love. She calms, comforts, and supports him, and with each day they spend together, he finds something new about her that he appreciates. Naruto used to think her dojutsu was strange-looking, and he always felt the need to look away from any Hyuuga's blank-eyed stare, but now he sees the unique beauty of the byakugan. He likes the soft luster of her dark hair, finds her occasional stutter endearing, and gets an odd satisfaction out of making her blush.

Naruto has never had anyone to teach him how to cook, and most of Hinata's meals have been prepared for her by servants, so neither of them knows their way around a kitchen. Still, today at his apartment they experiment with making miso soup together. Their first pot turns out horribly, because they forgot to add the dashi, but their second is pleasantly edible. They sit at his beat-up kitchen table and eat their soup.

"This is actually pretty good," Naruto says, as he finishes his bowl of miso. "Maybe our kids wouldn't starve after all."

Hinata looks at him with wide eyes and says, "You've thought about—about having kids with me?"

He shrugs, because really, he doesn't see what the big deal is. "Yeah. I mean we're supposed to love each other someday, right? Making a family just makes sense. To me anyway," he says, suddenly a little nervous that Hinata might not feel the same way.

She smiles softly and says, "It makes sense to me too."

Relieved, Naruto grins, wide and bright, and says, "Not that we gotta worry about that for ten or fifteen years anyway."

Hinata's gentle smile fades, and she says, "I suppose."

 _I'm stupid_ , Naruto thinks, because children are something they're never going to have to worry about at all, unless she disobeys her father and abandons her clan. And he can't ask her to do that; Naruto realizes the value of family too much to ever encourage Hinata to leave hers behind.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Just so you guys know, this story's canon compliance is going to end in the next chapter, and things are going to take quite a different turn... ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

He can hear children playing outside the hospital window, innocent and joyful. It sounds like something from a different world than the one he lives in. Sasuke can't stop thinking about how easily Itachi defeated him, how disinterested he was in his little brother. Somehow that stung more than the physical pain. A day hasn't passed since their family's massacre that Sasuke didn't think of his brother, but it's clear that he's nothing but an afterthought to Itachi.

 _I'm pathetic_ , he thinks. _Weak_.

Naruto is gone with Jiraiya on some mission, but Sakura has stayed behind, and she visits him whenever she can. It's not difficult to ignore her affections right now, not when he's so consumed by hatred—for his brother, for himself.

Today she brings an iris with her, places it in the empty vase on the bedside table. Sakura puts on a cheery, chatty front, but Sasuke can see right through her. She's worried—and she should be.

The hospital staff took his gloves along with the rest of his clothes, so now Sasuke's hands are bare. He examines the soulscar tattooed on his left palm, studies the gentle curve of the crescent moon, then looks up at Sakura. She deserves better than him. What a waste.

Sakura stops in the middle of her sentence and smiles at him gently. She reaches out, brushes his hair away from his face, and for a moment he wants to lean into her touch, but Sasuke manages to keep perfectly still. To pretend she has no effect on him.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asks. "Are you okay?"

Of course he isn't. But Sakura is optimistic, and she doesn't want to see what's right in front of her: he does not belong here. Not in Konoha, not with her.

When Naruto returns, Sasuke challenges him. Their aborted fight, along with his disastrous meeting with Orochimaru's lackeys, only confirm what he already knows—that he isn't strong enough, that he needs more power before he faces Itachi again.

He packs a bag, turns his picture of Team 7 face down, and heads for the road out of the village.

Sasuke isn't especially surprised when Sakura shows up. Somehow he knew she'd be here, that she understands him well enough to expect his departure. She begs him not to go, not to abandon their village (and her).

Sakura puts her hand on the middle of his back, and he can feel the warmth of her palm through his shirt. Without thinking, without meaning to, he turns around and faces her. Sasuke sees her tear-streaked cheeks, her inviting lips. Maybe his gaze lingers there too long, because Sakura closes the space between them, cups his face between her hands, and looks up at him with impossibly knowing, green eyes.

She kisses him, and even though he doesn't allow himself to kiss back, Sasuke is fully aware of everything: the softness of her sweet mouth, the smell of her hair, the grief-stricken sound she makes in the back of her throat when their lips part.

"I love you so much," she says, her mouth only a breath away from his own. "Please, Sasuke, don't do this. You belong here, with me. So stay."

He wants to with a ferocity that shocks him, but Sasuke knows he can't. He doesn't have the luxury of indulging in the things he desires, not anymore. Itachi took that from him, along with so much else.

"Thank you," he whispers against her lips. "For everything."

Then he knocks her out, catches her limp body before she can hit the ground, and lays her on a stone bench. Because she's unconscious and she'll never know about it, Sasuke runs his fingers through her pink hair, stealing one fond caress before he leaves the village.

* * *

Sakura waits to see whether Naruto will return with Sasuke. She worries, paces, tries to read (without success), watches the clock, and worries more.

 _I should be there with them._

No matter how this turns out, the first thing Sakura is doing tomorrow morning is presenting herself to the Godaime. She's not strong enough, the girl always in need of protection, and she's tired of watching Naruto's and Sasuke's backs. So she's going to ask Tsunade-sama to take her on as an apprentice.

Sakura sits in the hospital waiting room, studying the second hand as it ticks its way around the clock face. Each moment passes slower than the last, and she can't help but think of the worst possible outcomes: Naruto fails and Sasuke becomes a missing-nin, or they injure each other irreparably with the rasengan and chidori.

A chunin medic walks toward her, expression professionally neutral.

 _This is it_ , Sakura thinks.

"They're back from the mission, and they're all alive," the medic says. "Some of them are injured pretty badly, but nothing looks fatal."

"And Sasuke?" she makes herself ask, afraid to hear the answer. "Is he here too?"

The medic smiles gently. "Yes. He's unconscious right now, and it looks like Naruto took quite the beating to bring him back here, but they're both stable and medics are taking care of them as we speak."

 _Naruto did it. Sasuke is home._

How he'll react once he's awake, she can't imagine, but for now Sakura is simply thankful that Sasuke is here in Konoha, rather than in Orochimaru's hands.

"When can I see them?" Sakura asks, and if her voice wavers the medic has the grace not to remark upon it.

"Soon," she says. "I'll come get you when they're ready for visitors."

An hour later, the same medic returns, takes her up to the second floor, and asks, "Who do you want to visit first?"

She wants to see Sasuke, to assure herself that he's actually here, but Sakura owes Naruto a great debt, and she needs to talk to him before she does anything else.

He's awake and alert (if covered in bandages), and he smiles when he sees her walk through the door.

"Did you hear?" Naruto asks. "I brought Sasuke home."

Sakura can't help but smile too. "I heard," she says. "Are you okay, though? You look like a mummy."

Naruto laughs. "You should see the other guy."

"I will in a minute," Sakura says, "but first I wanted to say thank you."

She thinks Naruto might be blushing under his bandages, but it's a little difficult to tell. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan," he says. "I'm just glad the bastard is home."

"Me too," she says. "I'm going to go check on him now, all right?"

Sasuke's room is only three doors down from Naruto's, so it's a short walk, but the glee Sakura felt in Naruto's presence fades with every step. She's glad that Sasuke is safe in the village, but what if he hates them for interfering and bringing him back? What if he never forgives them?

Sasuke is bandaged every bit as dramatically as Naruto, and he's just coming around when she walks in the room. He blinks blearily, taking in the sterile, white surroundings, then sits up, clutching his head. Sakura sits in the chair beside his bed and says, "Sasuke-kun, I…"

The words catch in her throat when he looks at her, anger evident in his dark eyes. She's seen Sasuke's bad side before, but his foul temper has never been directed at her, not like this.

"Why didn't you just let me go?" he asks harshly.

Before she can answer, Sasuke says, voice cold, "You should have respected my decision to leave the village."

Sakura crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're waiting for."

"How's Naruto?" Sasuke asks, and now he looks and sounds deceptively calm.

"Pretty seriously hurt, like you," she says, wary.

" _Good_ ," Sasuke says, and in that one word she can hear his fury. Whatever anger he's harboring toward her, it's nothing compared to the rage he feels toward Naruto.

She reaches out, but doesn't dare touch his bandaged skin. "Sasuke—"

"Get out," he says, looking away from her. "I don't want to see you right now."

Sakura leaves without another word, trembling and short of breath, but she doesn't let her tears fall until she's in the hallway, safely out of sight.

* * *

Naruto gets released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon; Sasuke, whose injuries were slightly more serious, won't be let out until tomorrow morning. He hasn't spoken to his best friend since their fight at the Valley of the End, but Sakura has already warned him that their teammate might hate them both. Maybe this should worry him more, but he and Sasuke couldn't stand each other from day one. If that didn't get in the way of their friendship, why should this?

"He'll get over it," Naruto says.

Sakura, who visited and brought flowers every day that he was in the hospital, walks him home. She frowns and says, "I don't know, Naruto. I'm not sure that he will."

"Even if he doesn't, he's _here_ , and that's better than being with Orochimaru," he says.

When they reach his apartment, Naruto asks Sakura if she'd like to come in, and opens his door.

Hinata is on the other side, making tea. Her back is to them, but she says, "I heard you were getting out today, and I wanted to—"

She stops talking, maybe because she's noticed more than one set of footsteps, and turns around, blushing. "I—I didn't realize Sakura was bringing you home. Sorry, I'll just—I'll go."

She tries to walk past him, but Naruto catches her by the hand and says, "It's okay, Hinata. You can stay."

"Naruto-kun…" She glances between him and Sakura, who's trying and failing to hold back a smile.

"Don't worry," he says, drawing her back to the kitchen. "Sakura-chan won't tell on us."

Naruto looks at his teammate expectantly. She just says, "Of course not. And you know what? I think I'll be going. See you later, Naruto."

Sakura grins at him brightly, then gives him a barely-there hug, mindful of his injuries (and perhaps of Hinata's presence). She leaves, closing the door behind her.

Hinata tucks a lock of short hair behind her ear. "You're sure she won't tell anybody?"

"Positive," Naruto says. He pulls Hinata into his arms, savors the warmth of her body, the floral scent of her shampoo. "I missed you," he whispers.

Hinata hugs him tighter. "I missed you too," she says, so quietly he almost doesn't catch her words. "I'm sorry I didn't visit you. I was afraid it would look—"

"It's okay," he says. "I sorta figured."

They let go of each other but don't step apart, and Naruto ruffles his hair, suddenly a little embarrassed by their proximity. Hinata looks at him with her beautiful, pale eyes, fair cheeks still flushed, and asks, "Um, do you want to have that tea now?"

"Yeah," he says, smiling. "Sure."

The next day, Sasuke is released from the hospital, but Naruto and Sakura agree to give him some space. He's probably still angry and upset, and he wouldn't appreciate their presence right now. Kakashi-sensei tells them that Tsunade put Sasuke on four months' probation for trying to defect. Naruto doubts that being stuck in the village will improve his mood or foster his loyalty to Konoha, but it's not his call to make.

* * *

Autumn fades to winter, and Hinata turns thirteen at the end of December. The night after her birthday, she waits until her family is asleep, then goes to meet Naruto in their favorite grove. It's windy and cold, and the bare tree limbs are weighted with slowly melting snow. They sit together, close enough to share body heat, wrapped up beneath the same ragged blanket, breath fogging before them in the darkness.

"I've got something for you," Naruto says, and he pulls a small box from his pocket. "Here."

She opens the box and finds a silver necklace inside. It's a plain chain, delicate, boasting a round, moonstone pendant.

"It kinda reminded me of your eyes," Naruto says, smiling. "Happy birthday."

Hinata touches the pendant, wistful and reverent. "It's beautiful," she says, but she can't keep the worry out of her voice.

Naruto frowns. "You don't like it?"

"I love it," Hinata says, "but I don't know if I can wear it. If my father sees…"

"Couldn't you just say somebody else gave it to you?" Naruto asks. "A friend or something?"

Hinata shakes her head. "Otousan a-always knows when I'm lying. It's a miracle he hasn't caught us yet."

Naruto's shoulders slump, but he nods and says, "Okay. I'll hang onto it then. In case you ever change your mind."

 _In case you tell your family about us_ , he means.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," Hinata says. "I don't want you to think I don't appreciate your gift. I'm just afraid that if my father finds out that he'll keep us from seeing each other."

He shrugs, but she can tell she's hurt him. "It's okay. I get it."

When she returns to the Hyuuga compound, Neji takes her by the arm and pulls her into a guest room. "Where have you been?" he asks. "Hiashi-sama sent out a half-dozen shinobi from our clan to look for you."

"I was—I only went for a walk," Hinata says, fidgeting.

Neji narrows his eyes. "For three hours?" he asks. "You better come up with a better story than that before your father finds you."

"How did he even know I was gone?" Hinata asks. She'd been so careful when she snuck out, certain that nobody was watching or following her.

"Hanabi had a bad dream, and when she went to your room, you weren't there. It scared her, so she told Hiashi-sama."

Maybe her little sister had actually been frightened, but it's equally possible that she'd just wanted to get Hinata into trouble. It's difficult to tell with Hanabi sometimes.

Hinata goes to her father's study, stomach heavy with dread, and says, "Otousan? I'm home."

Her father looks up from his paperwork, stands, and walks around his desk. "Where were you?" he asks.

She starts a story about being unable to sleep and leaving the compound for fresh air, but Otousan interrupts her. He grounds her for a month, forbidding her to leave the house for anything besides missions or training.

"You're just like your mother," he says. "Too cowardly to tell the truth, to face things and take responsibility."

That would hurt more if she hadn't heard it so many times before.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Sakura is apprenticed to the Hokage, and Naruto is Jiraiya's student. Sasuke should be studying under Orochimaru, learning from one of the Sannin just like his teammates—but Naruto defeated him at the Valley of the End, pummeled him unconscious and dragged him back to the village. So he'll just have to take advantage of every resource Konoha has to offer. He steals scrolls containing kinjutsu and studies them in secret. Some of these techniques are rightly forbidden, Sasuke thinks, but he teaches them to himself anyway. If he gets caught who knows what the consequences will be; he's already on thin ice with Tsunade, and stealing kinjutsu is no small matter.

For the first two months of his probation, he avoids the rest of Team 7, too angry with his squad to want to see any of them. They give him space, and Sasuke takes it without reservation, but as December wanes into January, Sakura and Naruto start to pester him again. Sometimes they seek him out at the training grounds, other times they come directly to his apartment. At first he blows them off, or pretends not to be home. This strategy works for a little while, but Naruto doesn't know how to give up, and Sakura loves him too much to leave him be.

So, when someone knocks on his door for the third day in a row, Sasuke finally answers.

Sakura stands on his welcome mat, short hair pulled back in a falling-down ponytail, fair cheeks flushed from the cold. She's wearing a dark green coat, a grey scarf wrapped around her slender neck. Snowflakes cling to her clothes and hair, and she's shivering.

"Can I come in?" She looks at him with such a hopeful expression that he'd feel like a bastard if he rejected her.

"Yeah," Sasuke says, and he lets her inside.

She pulls off her pink gloves and stuffs them in her pocket. "Thanks," Sakura says. "It's freezing out there."

"What do you want?" he asks.

She approaches him, wary, and takes his left hand. Sakura traces the soulscar on his bare palm, her thumb following the curve of the crescent moon, and whispers, "I miss you."

If he's honest with himself, Sasuke knows he's missed her too, and it takes every bit of his self-control to hold his silence, to keep his face carefully blank.

She steps closer, invading his personal space, the way Sakura is wont to do sometimes, and suddenly he's thinking of the night he left Konoha. How her lips brushed his own in the softest of kisses. How badly he'd wanted to return her kiss. She's still holding his hand, and Sasuke can't help it, he squeezes her fingers, savoring the sweetness of contact.

 _I could kiss her now_ , he thinks. That night, he'd resisted because he thought he'd never see Sakura again. (And because there's no room for love in an avenger's life, but Sasuke isn't going to think on that just now.)

She wants him to do it. It's plainly written across her face, evident in the parting of her pink lips and her heavy-lidded gaze. Sasuke cups Sakura's chin with his free hand and studies her wide eyes, long-lashed and pale green; full mouth, lips plump and alluring; and that tall, proud forehead that got her picked on throughout their Academy days. She's lovely. He's known that for a long time, but sometimes it strikes him all over again, just how beautiful she is.

 _She's mine, and I'm hers_ , he thinks. Some force somewhere preordained it, matched the two of them together, and nothing can change that.

For once, Sasuke forgoes discipline for passion. He pulls Sakura into his arms and kisses her. She gasps against his mouth, and he tastes the sweetness of hot chocolate on her breath. Then she winds her arms around his neck, presses herself against his chest, and kisses him back.

* * *

Her team is broken. Only Sasuke studies with Kakashi-sensei anymore, and he's still so angry with Naruto that he barely speaks to him. Sakura wants to do something to help, to repair the bond between her best friend and the boy she loves, but any time she brings up the subject Sasuke either dismisses it or kisses her quiet.

They've been meeting almost every day for weeks. Sakura always goes to him, but she doesn't mind this. Today, she leaves the hospital in the early hours of the morning and hurries across the deserted village. Cold, spring rain soaks her, and Sakura knows she must look half-drowned by the time she reaches Sasuke's apartment. He lets her in after her third knock, blue-black hair tousled, dark eyes vague with sleep.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"Two-thirty," Sakura says, a little sheepishly. "Sorry I woke you."

Sasuke looks her up and down, from the top of her wet head to the pool of water gathering around her feet. He goes to his bedroom, then comes back a moment later with one of his own t-shirts and a pair of shorts. "Here," he says.

"Thank you." Sakura goes to the bathroom, changes out of her wet things and into the dry clothes Sasuke gave her. Once she's dressed, she can't help but look over her shoulder at the image of her back in the mirror, admiring the Uchiha crest against the black fabric of the shirt.

She walks back to Sasuke, wraps her arms around his waist and kisses his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and finally his lips. He runs his fingers through her damp hair, then pulls her close against him, until there's no space between their bodies. They stay this way for a long while, just holding and kissing one another. Sakura wants to know what this means to him, but she's afraid to ask.

Sasuke breaks their kiss, frowning, and says, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired." This is true enough, because Tsunade-shishou has been working her relentlessly, training her in both combat and medical ninjutsu.

Sasuke's probation ends tomorrow, and Team 7 has their first mission together since he tried to abandon the village. It's a simple, C-rank escort assignment that won't even take them out of the Fire Country, but Sakura is excited to be reunited with her squad just the same. She hopes that forcing Naruto and Sasuke to keep company will somehow help mend the divide that's developed between them.

"Are you looking forward to our mission?" she asks.

"No," he says. "I'm sick of mindless C-rank babysitting jobs."

"Well anything's got to be better than probation," Sakura says. "Besides, it'll be nice to have the whole team together again, don't you think?"

"Stop trying to make me forgive Naruto," Sasuke says sharply.

Sakura crosses her arms over her chest and says, "He was only trying to protect you."

"I don't care." He takes a step away from her, putting more space between them.

"If you can forgive me, why can't you forgive him?" she asks.

The look Sasuke gives her is cold, unrelenting. "I haven't forgiven you," he says. "If you hadn't told the Hokage I'd left, I'd be training with Orochimaru right now. Actually getting strong enough to face Itachi, instead of languishing here in this joke of a shinobi village."

"Then what's all this?" Sakura asks, as she gestures between them. "Why have you been carrying on with me?"

Sasuke says nothing, puts his hands in his pockets, looks away from her.

"Well?" she asks. "If you're still so angry with me, then why—"

"I don't know," he says. "Okay? I don't know."

Sakura closes the gap between their bodies, cradles his cheek in her hand. He's growing so tall, she has to look up at him now.

"I love you," she whispers. It's only the second time she's said this out loud, and it takes every bit of her courage to voice it.

Sasuke leans into her touch, eyes closed, as if the contact is too desirable to ignore. "I'm tired too," he says.

She caresses his cheek with her thumb and asks, "Do you want me to go?"

"No," he says. Sasuke takes her hand in his own and leads her to his room. "Will you sleep here, with me?"

Sakura already lied to her parents about the length of her shift at the hospital, in case she wanted to visit Sasuke, so they probably won't worry or come looking for her. Still, it takes her a moment to answer, because sleeping in the same bed with this boy is an intimacy she never expected to have.

"Yeah," she says, smiling softly. "I'll stay."

She climbs into Sasuke's bed and gets underneath the covers. He lies on his side, facing her, black eyes luminous in the darkness. Maybe he's only invited her to sleep here because he's lonely and love-starved, but Sakura doesn't care. If she can provide him some comfort, some relief, she's happy to do it.

They fall asleep with their left hands entwined.

* * *

Hinata's father tells her that it's time to start looking for a suitor for her. Neji would be perfect, he says, if he wasn't so closely tied by blood. Otousan considers a half-dozen boys from the Branch House before he finally settles upon her fourth cousin, Hikaru, a young man of fifteen. Although she's seen him in the background at family functions, Hinata has never actually spoken to him before.

Hikaru is tall for his age, with short, black hair and a narrow face. He's handsome, in the Hyuuga way, and Otousan assures her that he's second only to Neji when it comes to his facility with the byakugan. Unlike most of the Branch House, he keeps his forehead bare, uncovered by either hair or hitai-ate. He wears the green seal proudly, and he never fails to call her Hinata-sama, tone respectful, even reverent.

When her father asks whether or not she'll accept Hikaru as her someday-husband, Hinata understands that this isn't really a question. So she simply nods, goes to her room, and thinks about her mother. How Okaasan was trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she wasn't meant for. Hinata is going to follow in her footsteps, to wed Hikaru and have his children, unless she forsakes her family, her clan, her responsibilities as the Hyuuga heiress.

She hasn't dared sneak out in the middle of night, not since Hanabi told on her, but the next morning Hinata leaves the compound and searches out Naruto. She finds him at Ichiraku, which is too public a place to talk, but she tells him to meet her at their grove in thirty minutes.

Half an hour later, Naruto shows up at the appointed place. He hugs her, but when Hinata fails to hug him back, he looks at her curiously and asks, "So what's up?"

"My father chose my future husband," she says.

Naruto's tan face goes pale. "Who is it?" he asks.

"Does it m-matter? A Hyuuga boy. Somebody with the byakugan, like me," Hinata says.

Naruto scowls and says fiercely, "This isn't right. Who you marry should be _your_ choice, not your father's."

"This is the way things have always been done," she says, a little taken aback by his anger.

"That doesn't mean it's the way it should be," Naruto says. The last time she saw such a hardness to his bright eyes was during the chunin exams, when he fought Neji.

"Are you mad at me?" she asks.

Naruto takes a deep breath. "No, Hinata. I'm just angry 'cause this isn't fair, and I don't want to stop seeing you."

She throws her arms around him, clings to his warm body. "That's not going to happen."

"Then what are you gonna do?" Naruto asks. "Will you tell your father about us?"

He holds her tightly, kisses her cheek, and she feels herself flush under his lips. He's never kissed her before, and the feeling of his mouth on her skin makes her heart beat faster.

"If I have to," she says. "If it comes down to it, then—then I choose you."

She loves Naruto, and she loves her family too, but Hinata refuses to be like her mother, to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of duty.

* * *

Spring turns to summer, summer to fall, and Naruto and Hinata continue to see one another in secret. They're always careful, always mindful of the consequences should they get caught. They only meet during the daylight hours, at places private and little-known.

Lately, Naruto has found himself wanting to touch Hinata more. To brush his knuckles across the apple of her cheek, to kiss her forehead, to hold her hand more tightly. She's beautiful and kind and _his_ , just as he's _hers_ , and he can't help but imagine their future together. The big house they'll share, how they'll fill the extra rooms with kids. Nights sleeping side by side, and mornings waking up to the pitter-patter of their children's footsteps in the hallway.

Naruto's fourteenth birthday was two weeks ago. Hinata kissed his cheek that day, her soft lips lingering just a shade too close to the corner of his mouth to be accidental. She'd blushed furiously afterward, stammered something about needing to go home, and left him at his apartment, stunned. Ever since, he keeps wondering what it would be like to kiss her properly, to feel her lips beneath his own. He might be brave during missions, but Naruto is still stumbling in the darkness when it comes to matters of the heart, so he does nothing to act on this desire.

Today it's unseasonably cold for October, so he and Hinata make hot chocolate and curl up together on the couch, sharing a blanket. They drink from their steaming mugs, and just for fun, Naruto tells Hinata the sort of crude, stupid joke that makes her blush and laugh at the same time. She's so proper that he likes to break through the shell of courtesy that she protects herself with.

(But sometimes he feels like he's sullying her, that he's just what Hiashi claims—a brat who'll do nothing but dirty Hinata.)

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thank you so much to everyone who's been favoriting, following, and reviewing this story! I'm having a blast with it, so it's great to see that most of you are enjoying it too. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Sasuke works with Kakashi, practicing new techniques, improving the chidori and learning how to refine his use of the sharingan. He's growing stronger every day, and perhaps someday soon he'll be ready to face his brother.

Things with the rest of Team 7 remain tense, but Naruto has a way about him that keeps Sasuke from staying angry. He doesn't forgive the idiot, and he's not going to anytime soon, if ever. Yet neither does he show his resentment every time their squad gets together or goes on a mission.

His relationship with Sakura is both utterly simple and exceedingly complicated. It feels natural to be with her, easy as breathing, and maybe that's what it means to be soulmates. But Sasuke knows that every kiss and every embrace they share is a distraction, a stumbling block on his path toward revenge. Being with Sakura makes him want to forget Itachi, to let go of his anger and try to find some peace. He can't do that, though. No matter how badly some part of him wants to.

She's taken to sleeping next to him whenever she can get away with it, and Sasuke appreciates this as much as he enjoys it. The nightmares are fewer and farther between with her by his side, and Sakura's presence is calming, comforting.

It's a cold January night, and without quite meaning to, Sasuke moves nearer to Sakura, seeking her warmth. She wraps her arm around him and burrows closer, until her head is tucked neatly beneath his chin and her body is pressed flush against his, leaving no space between them. Sasuke runs his fingers through her silky, blush-colored hair, and she makes a small, contented noise in the back of her throat.

He wishes he could freeze this moment and stay in it forever.

* * *

Sakura's fifteenth birthday comes and goes, then Sasuke's, and it startles her to realize that they've been carrying on covertly for a year-and-a-half. She's growing tired of keeping quiet, of sneaking around. When she finally tells Sasuke as much, he scowls and says, "What we have is private. It isn't anyone else's business."

"I understand that," she says patiently, "but right now we're lying to our friends, my parents, Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-shishou. I don't want to lie anymore."

It's obvious that the prospect of making their relationship public disconcerts Sasuke. Maybe because he likes to think that, as long as nobody knows, it isn't real.

He shakes his head and says, "No, Sakura. I'm not ready."

"Will you ever be?" she asks.

"I don't know," Sasuke says, and she appreciates his honesty, if not the truth he shares.

She spends the rest of the day at the hospital, mending broken bones, lacerations, and burns. Sakura likes the distraction that work provides, the clear-headed state she has to reach in order to focus her chakra in just the right way. Her worries about Sasuke and their undefined relationship melt away as she heals patient after patient.

It's almost eleven o'clock by the time she finishes her double shift. Sakura lingers at a fork in the road. The eastern street leads to Sasuke's apartment, and the northern will take her home. She knows that if she doesn't go to him, Sasuke's nightmares will be worse. He'll toss and turn beneath the sheets, with no one to wake him from his dreams. Maybe he'll run to the bathroom and vomit (as she's seen him do twice before), or perhaps he'll simply cry, frightened by the horror he witnessed as a child.

No matter how upset she is, Sakura can't leave him to face his terrors alone; she takes the eastern road.

* * *

Her father _knows_. Somehow, he's discovered Hinata's secret, and now she has to face the consequences.

She stands in front of his desk, trying her best not to fidget.

"I told you to leave that boy alone," Otousan says, and she can't help but notice how he never uses Naruto's name.

She should say _I'm sorry_ , but she isn't regretful, not really, so Hinata keeps her mouth closed.

"You have nothing to say?" Otousan asks. He puts his hands on the edge of his desk and grips it until his knuckles turn white. "Fine, I'll do the talking: you will not see him again. From now on a guard from the Branch House will accompany you everywhere you go, save for missions. Things will stay this way until you've earned my trust again."

 _He'd make me a prisoner in my own home_ , Hinata thinks. What sort of father would do this to his daughter? Part of her wants to blame herself, but a voice that sounds remarkably like Naruto's reminds her that she's done nothing wrong. If anything, she's doing what's right, what's meant to be.

"No," Hinata whispers. Then she takes a deep breath and says, louder, "No."

Otousan scowls. "Don't make things worse for yourself," he warns.

It's too late. She's already chosen her path; now it's time to walk down it. "I love Naruto," she says, "and I'm going to marry him someday."

"No daughter of mine will have a mongrel like that boy for a husband," Otousan says.

Hinata stands straighter. "Then I'm no daughter of yours."

He tells her to get out. To leave immediately. No, she can't pack her things, or say goodbye to her sister and Neji.

"Go, now," Otousan says. "I don't want to look at you."

She walks out of the only home she's ever known with nothing but the clothes on her back. This is the end of her days as the Hyuuga heiress, but it feels like a beginning too. Though Hinata is leaving much behind, there's more ahead than even she can see. She just hopes that, whatever the future holds, it's worth the things she lost tonight.

* * *

When he opens the door and finds Hinata standing on his welcome mat, Naruto smiles brightly.

"Can I come in?" she asks.

"Sure. Always, Hinata-chan," he says.

She seems calm, composed, but underneath that there's a sadness that makes Naruto nervous. "Are you okay?" he asks.

Hinata sits on his beat-up couch, just barely perched on the edge of the cushion. She tells him she's been disowned, that her father kicked her out of the house and now she has nowhere to go.

 _Because of me._

"You have somewhere," Naruto says. He sits beside her and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "I know my place isn't much, but you can stay here—if you want to."

Hinata blushes and says, "Thank you. I'd like that very much, Naruto-kun."

That night, she sleeps in one of his worn-out t-shirts and a pair of striped boxer shorts. Naruto insists on taking the couch so that Hinata can have the bed. She protests at first, but he tickles her until she acquiesces. Naruto is certain he's never heard anything as beautiful as the sound of her unrestrained laughter.

The next weeks are the happiest of his life. He wakes every morning knowing that Hinata is here, under the same roof as him. They don't have to hide anymore, so they go to public places, no longer afraid to hold hands where anyone can see. At home, they play games, cook, clean, and stay up until the early hours of the morning, just talking. It's almost like being married, he thinks, except at the end of the day he retires to the couch and she to the bedroom.

Maybe it's strange and a little backwards, living together before they've even kissed, but Naruto doesn't mind this.

His apartment seems different since she showed up on his doorstep. Warmer, more welcoming. It isn't until summer fades to fall that he works out what's changed; Hinata makes this place feel like home.

* * *

Sakura avoids him during the day. As long as the light shines on Konoha, she seems adamant about keeping her distance. She says she isn't interested in continuing their romantic relationship until he's ready to be with her publicly and honestly.

But at night, three or four times a week, she still comes to his apartment. Still wakes him from his nightmares, soothes him until he falls back into restless sleep.

 _She feels sorry for me_ , Sasuke thinks. It makes him sick, makes him angry, but he can't find the willpower to tell her to stop.

He misses kissing her and running his hands along the gentle curves of her body. The only time he gets to hold Sakura anymore is in the darkness of night, and he wonders if this is as much a punishment as it is the result of her conviction.

Naruto has been unbearable ever since Hinata moved into his apartment, always smiling a lovesick smile and chattering about the Hyuuga girl. Sasuke doesn't know which annoys him more: that Naruto is now free to love his soulmate, or that he isn't able to do the same.

It's probably for the best anyway. He needs to focus on becoming stronger, and Sakura is his greatest distraction.

Sasuke studies every kinjutsu scroll he's stolen from Konoha's archives and creates a few techniques of his own. But his luck runs out in the middle of October. When he returns the forbidden scrolls he last borrowed and steals six more, he gets caught and taken to the Hokage.

Tsunade sighs, obviously weary of the problems he causes this village, and says, "I have no choice but to treat you like any other shinobi who stole kinjutsu. You'll spend the night in jail, and starting from tomorrow, you're on probation for three months."

Sasuke overpowers his captors as they escort him to Konoha's jailhouse, then walks through the front door alone, simply to show Tsunade and anyone else who's watching that he's only doing this because he chooses to. Nobody, not even the Hokage, could make him do something against his will.

By the next morning, word has gotten around about Sasuke's night in jail, and when he meets Team 7 at Ichiraku, Naruto laughs. "And you call me the idiot," he says, sniggering.

"This isn't funny," Sakura says, and she gives Naruto the sort of glare that invariably shuts him up.

"I'm on probation again," Sasuke says. "Three months this time."

"What?" Sakura frowns at him. "Sasuke-kun, what did you do?"

He considers lying, or saying it isn't any of her business, but really, why not tell her the truth? So Sasuke admits to stealing and studying Konoha's forbidden techniques.

Sakura looks at him, worry written on her face. "You don't have to do things like that."

Sasuke shrugs, then takes a bite of his tonkotsu. "I do if I want to kill my brother."

It all comes back to Itachi. Every element of his life has been built around vengeance—every element except for his team, and there's a reason he once tried to leave them behind.

* * *

Sakura knows that she's sending mixed messages, refusing to kiss Sasuke during the day, then letting him hold her at night. She tells herself she does this only for him, because she cares about this boy and doesn't want to leave him to suffer his nightmares all alone. But the truth is that she's greedy for his affection, that she can't bear to go without his touch, and it's this selfishness as much as love that motivates her to visit his apartment after dark.

It's a cold January night, and Konoha is blanketed in white. Sakura walks quickly, clutching her coat tighter about her body. She makes it to Sasuke's building by one o'clock, stomps her boots on the welcome mat to shake off the dirty snow, and uses the spare key he gave her to open the door. It's much warmer inside, but still chilly, and she shivers when she takes off her hat, scarf, and gloves.

Sakura finds Sasuke sitting up in bed, lamp still on, reading. "Hey," he says, without looking up from his book.

She strips down to her tank top and underwear. That gets his attention. Sasuke's dark eyes follow the length of her bare legs, then linger on her lacy blue panties (which she wore precisely because she knew he would see them tonight).

Sakura climbs into bed beside him and burrows beneath the covers. Sasuke sets his book on the bedside table, turns off the light, and pulls her into his arms, her back pressed against his chest. She sighs, contented and warm for the first time in hours, at peace.

That sense of calm dissipates when his hand drifts from her waist to her hip. He plays with the edge of her underwear, his skillful fingers gently plucking at the lace.

"Sasuke-kun… you shouldn't do that," Sakura says. "We're not seeing each other anymore. We're just—just friends now."

He whispers in her ear, "Don't pretend you didn't wear these for me. That's not the sort of thing _friends_ do."

Sasuke kisses her neck, and Sakura can't help it, she makes a small, desperate sound. It's been so long since she felt his lips on her skin, and she can't bring herself to stop him. Even though she should.

He takes her left hand in his own, traces the soulscar on her palm with his thumb, and between kisses, Sasuke says against the curve of her shoulder, "This is right. We're supposed to be this way, Sakura."

She turns over and presses her lips to his. Giving up, giving in, because she isn't strong enough to withhold her affection any longer. They kiss until dawn light streams into the room, casting golden lines across the hardwood floor.

 _You're mine_ , Sakura thinks. _And I'm yours_.

* * *

Hinata comes home soaked and shivering, drenched by the sudden spring storm that flash-flooded Konoha's streets. Naruto gets a towel from the bathroom and hands it over, trying to hold back a laugh. Hinata, always so prim and perfect, looks a mess, and it's adorable.

She smiles shyly and says, "Don't laugh at me. I'm really cold."

A snigger dies in his throat when she takes off her coat. Even the shirt underneath her jacket is wet, and the fabric clings to her narrow waist and full breasts. The sight is enough to make his blood run hot, to make him think about every desire he's been trying to suppress since Hinata moved in. He wants to kiss her, touch her, spend all day in bed learning each other's bodies—

She crosses her arms over her chest, cheeks furiously pink, and Naruto realizes he's been openly staring at Hinata's breasts ever since she removed her coat. He probably ought to apologize, but he's certain that if does it will only embarrass both of them further.

That night, while he's lying on the couch, alone in the dark, he keeps thinking about kissing her, wondering what she'll taste like, how her lips will feel beneath his own.

They're fifteen, living together and meant for each other. It's perfectly natural for him to imagine these things, to want them, to want _her_.

He gets up and goes to the bedroom, moving more out of instinct than anything else, thoughtless. Naruto slips into bed beside her and whispers, "Hinata, wake up."

She blinks, her pale eyes wide in the dark. It's still storming, and he can hear the downpour outside, rain drumming against the windows, thunder rolling in the distance. He cups her cheek, feels the warmth of her flush underneath his touch. Hinata whispers his name, curious, questioning.

Naruto kisses her temple, the curve of her cheek, the corner of her mouth. He waits for a moment, gives her ample opportunity to say if she doesn't want this, if she isn't ready. Hinata only makes a soft noise, puts a hand in his hair and runs her fingers through it. That touch is welcoming, encouraging. So he presses his lips to hers and finds that they're every bit as soft as they look.

* * *

They've shared the bed ever since the night Naruto kissed her. It's mostly innocent touches, holding hands, words of affection whispered in the darkness. There's no longer the fear of being found out, but somehow the sense of illicitness lingers, as if every embrace is still forbidden.

As the sun rises, Hinata presses gentle kisses to his neck—one, two, three—and with each touch she thinks _I love you_. They've never said those words to one another, but that's all right; they know it to be true just the same.

Later that morning, Naruto leaves for a mission to Suna with Team 7, and Hinata goes to the market square to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. If not for her, they'd live off of a diet of ramen and milk.

As she accepts the paper bag of produce from the vendor, she catches sight of her father. Otousan is walking through the square with Hanabi at his side. He doesn't seem to see her—and that's no surprise, really, because when did he ever?

Still, Hinata ducks behind a melon vendor's stall, clutching the paper bag to her breast, heart pounding. She looks around the corner, careful not to get caught, and watches her father and sister as they make their way through the crowd. Hanabi has grown since the last time Hinata saw her, and she carries herself differently: taller, prouder, more like an heiress than a secondborn daughter.

Otousan reaches over and ruffles Hanabi's hair fondly—the sort of gesture of affection that he never bestowed upon Hinata—and if this hurts to witness, she reminds herself that everything is as it should be. Her little sister will make a stronger Head of Hyuuga than Hinata ever would have, and she's free to be with Naruto now. Things are better this way.

They have to be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

The mission to Suna goes awry. What should have been a simple assignment turns into a battle with the Akatsuki. Sasuke and the Kazekage take on Deidara while Sakura and Naruto fight Sasori, the puppet-master. It takes everything he and Gaara have to kill Deidara, and when it's finally over, Sasuke hurries to help his squadmates, the Kazekage close behind him.

Naruto and Sakura could be hurt. They could be dead. This is the Akatsuki after all, a greater threat than any Team 7 has ever faced before. As much as he resents Naruto for dragging him back to Konoha against his will, he doesn't want to the idiot to be captured or killed. And Sakura—he can't consider her coming to harm. The thought is too painful.

He finds them amidst a graveyard of broken puppets. Sakura is holding Naruto in her arms, weeping, and for a moment Sasuke thinks the worst.

 _He's dead. Just like Otousan and Okaasan._

But then Sakura says he's alive—injured, poisoned, but alive—and she might be able to save him. Sasuke carries Naruto to the Suna hospital himself. Then he stands back and watches Sakura at work, more than a little in awe as she heals Naruto. Where is the girl always in need of protection? She seems to be gone, and in her place is a medic-nin whose skills rival the Hokage's. Sasuke knew Sakura had become stronger, but he didn't realize until this moment just how much she's grown. Still, he's afraid. What if, even with the help of expert healing, Naruto doesn't survive?

This turns out to be an unnecessary worry. He should have had more faith in Sakura's abilities. She saves Naruto's life, heals herself, and mends the injuries he and Gaara sustained from their battle with Deidara.

Naruto spends the night in the hospital, but Sasuke and Sakura sleep at an inn near the center of the village. He goes to her room at ten o'clock and finds that she left the door unlocked; she knew he would come. It rankles his pride a little, that he is so predictable in his affections that Sakura expected him. But after the day they had he doesn't have the energy to muster any anger.

When Sasuke joins her in bed, she hugs him and whispers, "I was so worried about you today."

"It's over," he says, "and thanks to you we're all going to be fine."

Sakura nods, snuggles closer to him, and within a minute she's fallen asleep against his chest. Sasuke runs his fingers through her short hair, his touch gentle, almost reverent, the beginning of a smile tugging at his lips.

His thoughts stray from the sleeping girl in his arms to the day's battle. Just hours ago, he faced one of the Akatsuki and walked away, barely hurt. It gives him confidence that, on the day he finally fights Itachi, he might be able to survive.

Sasuke opens his left palm and examines the soulscar there. Hope is a dangerous thing, he reminds himself, but he can't help it: for just a moment, he considers a life after vengeance. A life with Sakura.

* * *

Gaara accompanies Team 7 on their return to Konoha. They go straight to the Hokage's office to report on what happened in Suna. Sasuke and the Kazekage stand to the back, both silent and stern, while Sakura and Naruto recount their fight with Sasori.

"And his partner? Deidara? I understand you killed him as well," Tsunade-shishou says.

Gaara says, "That's right."

Tsunade rubs her temple. "The Akatsuki are growing bolder. Marching right into the Sand and picking a fight with the Kazekage."

"It's only a matter of time before they come for Naruto again," Sasuke says, stepping forward. "Konoha isn't safe. Not so long as the Akatsuki are roaming free."

Tsunade frowns. "What are you getting at?"

"It's simple," Sasuke says, almost dismissively. "We can hunt or be hunted. I say we go after them before they can come for us."

"And this suggestion isn't at all motivated by your desire to fight Itachi?" Tsunade asks, clearly skeptical.

He shrugs. "I'll kill him regardless. It doesn't matter to me whether it's as part of a mission or not."

"I think Sasuke's right," Naruto says. "Let's take the fight to the Akatsuki."

Gaara nods. "I agree. Better to send our strongest shinobi to face them than wait for the Akatsuki to surprise us."

"You're being awfully quiet, Sakura," Tsunade says. "What do you think?"

She looks to the Hokage, wary and a little nervous. "I see the sense in this, but it seems risky. Maybe too risky."

Tsunade sighs, then says, "It might be, but every course of action is dangerous at this point."

In the end, she agrees, and within a week teams from Konoha and Suna have been assembled to go after each member of the Akatsuki. Sakura tries not to worry, even when Sasuke demands that Tsunade allow him to target Itachi. The Hokage refuses to send Sasuke alone, but she does give the assignment to Team 7, which he has no choice but to grudgingly accept.

Sakura visits his apartment the night before they're scheduled to set out on their mission. Sasuke is awake, sitting in the living room, polishing his weapons. He looks up as she closes the front door behind her.

"You should go home," he says.

Sakura sits next to him on the couch, pulls her knees up to her chest, and asks, "Why?"

"We go looking for my brother tomorrow," he says. "You need to get some rest."

"I can rest here. With you." She runs her fingers through his hair and says, "Promise me you won't go after Itachi on your own."

He's silent for a long, worrisome moment. Then Sasuke sighs, sets down the shuriken he was polishing, and kisses her forehead. "I promise," he says.

* * *

Naruto and the rest of Team 7 set out to find Uchiha Itachi in eight hours, and Hinata has rarely been so afraid in all her life. This is the man who slaughtered his own clan, one of the most feared and notorious members of Akatsuki, and tomorrow the boy she loves is going to hunt him down.

He must sense her fear, because when they get in bed Naruto wraps an arm around her waist, kisses the back of her neck, and says, "I'm gonna be okay, Hinata. My team is strong. If we work together we can take Itachi."

 _What if he's wrong? What if he doesn't come home?_

"I can't help but be concerned," she says.

Naruto splays his hand across her belly, casually possessive, and pulls her against his chest. "I can think of better things to do," he says, and Hinata hears the smile in his voice as he mock-bites her shoulder.

Anxiety still tightens her stomach, but she'd rather make good memories than waste this night worrying. She turns over, traces the marks on his cheek with her fingers, and says, "I'm going to miss you."

His grin dims a little. "I'm gonna miss you too."

He kisses her, slowly and tenderly. She's loved Naruto for as long as she can remember, and she wants him to know how much he means to her. But she's not like him; she's never been good at expressing herself in words. So, instead of speaking, Hinata leans into him, wraps her leg around his waist, and kisses back, hungry and a little desperate for his touch.

When she whimpers against his mouth, she means _I'll wait for you_ , and when she bites his bottom lip, she means _Come back to me_.

Hinata hopes he understands.

* * *

Even with the help of Kakashi-sensei's ninken it takes a week to find a trace of Itachi, and then it's only a long-cold trail that leads to a run-down River Country minshuku. The innkeeper remembers renting a room to a man in an Akatsuki cloak last month, but he has no idea where his lodger may have traveled next.

They criss-cross the Fire Country and its neighboring nations, following likely rumors. Naruto can see Sasuke growing more and more impatient as the days pass without any sign of his brother. He broods and keeps to himself, and when he's tired he snaps at his teammates (even Sakura, sometimes).

Three weeks after setting out on their hunt, they finally come across a substantial lead: intel on an Akatsuki hideout on the southwestern border of the Fire Country.

Naruto runs all day, until Kakashi finally makes them stop to eat. Sasuke says he isn't hungry, and he sits off to the side, watching the sunset.

"Do you think he's okay?" Sakura whispers.

"I dunno," Naruto says. "I don't think I would be, if I was him."

She yawns. "I'm so tired. We've barely had a minute to rest in days."

"I know what you mean," Naruto says, rubbing his eyes. "I'm beat."

Only he was awake and alert a few minutes ago. Now he feels sluggish, sleepy, and heavy-limbed. He looks to Kakashi just in time to see his sensei faint. Then Sakura slumps against him, eyes closed. Naruto sees Sasuke standing over them, a hard look on his face, unremorseful and unforgiving, before he passes out.

* * *

Sakura's first thought upon waking is: _Sasuke lied to me_.

Her second is that he must have stolen a sedative from her pouch of drugs and poisons and dosed the food with it.

The sky is a canvas of star-strewn black, like dark velvet scattered with diamonds. A crescent moon hangs in the air, bright and silver, and Sakura finds herself looking to the soulscar on her palm. It's too dark to tell whether the mark is still red, or if it has turned black, signaling her mate's death.

She wakes Kakashi and Naruto, who curses loudly and swears to kick Sasuke's ass when they catch up to him.

"You'll have to beat me to it," Sakura says. Really, though, if he's alive she'll be too glad of his survival to much care about anything else.

They head southwest, and as the sky turns twilight grey, then gold, Sakura keeps stealing glances at her soulscar. It's there on her palm, crimson as ever.

As they approach the outskirts of the hideout, Naruto frowns at her and asks, "Why do you keep looking at your hand?"

Sakura can't think up a good lie, not quickly enough, because then Kakashi-sensei grabs her by the wrist and examines her soulscar. "So Sasuke's still alive then," he says.

She considers denying it, pretending not to know what he means, but Kakashi deserves this reassurance almost as much as she does. "Yes. He has to be."

Naruto's blue eyes widen as realization hits him. "You—you and Sasuke are _soulmates_?" he asks.

"We don't have time to talk about it," Sakura says, blushing. "Right now we need to find him."

It doesn't take long. Sasuke is alive, just as the mark on her palm promised, but he's only hanging on by a thread. He collapsed next to his brother's blank-eyed corpse, amidst a battlefield boasting cracked earth, scattered with shuriken, still aflame with mundane fire and black Amaterasu. She can tell from a cursory examination that his chakra is almost completely depleted. He's bruised, covered in minor scrapes and burns, his breathing shallow.

After they move Sasuke away from the site of the fight, Sakura heals his injuries, cradles his limp body in her arms, and prays for him to wake.

* * *

He knows before he opens his eyes that he's in the Konoha hospital. The sharp scents of antiseptic and alcohol permeate the air, and the scratchy sheets feel uncomfortable but familiar.

Sasuke looks around the dim room—someone thoughtful must have lowered the lights, probably Sakura. His team sits around him, Naruto slouched and asleep in his chair, Kakashi reading a ridiculous, dog-eared _Icha Icha_ novel. Sakura sits with her head in her hands, perfectly still.

Kakashi is the first to notice he's awake. He closes his book and says, "Drugging your teammates isn't a great way to build trust, you know."

Sakura looks up, green eyes wide and over-bright. She murmurs his name, stands, and approaches the bed. Tentative, almost shy, she reaches out and brushes his hair away from his face.

"You broke your promise," Sakura whispers, but she doesn't sound angry or upset.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke says, because he is.

Kakashi kicks Naruto and the idiot startles awake.

"Sasuke!" he says. "You're up." His bright smile fades after a moment, though. "You drugged us, you asshole!"

Sasuke doesn't bother apologizing to Naruto.

"What did you do with Itachi's body?" he asks.

The three of them share an uncomfortable look, then Kakashi says, "We returned it to Konoha."

Sasuke nods. Much as he wanted his brother dead, the thought of Itachi lying outside, body unprotected from the elements and scavengers, turns his stomach. Besides, the sharingan is too powerful a weapon to leave for anyone to find. He expects that this is precisely why they brought Itachi back to the village.

He's released from the hospital three days later, and by then, Sasuke has had ample time to think. He expected to feel lighter, freer, after he killed his brother, at the very least relieved, but instead he just feels empty. As he walks back to his apartment (which seems nothing like home), Sasuke realizes that this is because he's built his entire life around avenging his clan. Now that this is done, now that Itachi is dead, he has no purpose.

* * *

She returns from her mission with Team 10. Hidan and Kakuzu are dead, but they lost Asuma, and Kurenai-sensei grieves so openly that Hinata can barely stand to watch it. The soulscar on her forearm has turned black, as if she needed a reminder that her mate is dead.

That night, Naruto holds her while she cries. He kisses her forehead and rubs his strong hand up and down her back, soothing gestures that only remind her of how much she loves him. How much she stands to lose if he should fall in battle, like Asuma did.

Naruto is strong, but he's told her about the Kyubi, and the nine-tailed beast he houses paints a target on his back. What's left of Akatsuki will be coming for him.

Hinata wipes away her tears and says, "I won't let them hurt you."

She knows she isn't strong enough to face any single member of Akatsuki and come out alive, but Hinata doesn't care. She would fight their leader if she had to, would give up her own life in an instant if it would protect Naruto.

* * *

The rookie teams haven't been the same since their battles with Akatsuki. Team 8 is sobered by their experience, while Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji seem lost without their sensei. As for Team 7, Naruto doesn't know what to expect of his squad anymore. Sasuke drugged them to go rogue, and now he understands that Sakura lied for years about being Sasuke's soulmate. What little unity their team still had has been fractured.

Even so, he visits Sasuke. His friend has been withdrawn and distracted since he faced his brother, almost as if he didn't expect to survive, and without vengeance to work toward he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Today they spar, and afterward, Naruto and Sasuke sit in the grass and drink from bottles of water, warmed by the spring sunlight, enjoying the blue sky and gentle breeze.

Sasuke won their fight, which irritates Naruto, but not enough for him to ruin this moment. It's the first peaceful interaction he and Sasuke have had in months—maybe because they just finished beating each other up. Their fights seem to either inflame their rivalry or settle an odd peace between them. It's the latter today, and Naruto is thankful for it.

"You know, you've got more to live for than vengeance," he says.

Sasuke picks at a weed, uprooting it from the soft earth. "Like what?" he asks dully.

"Like me and Kakashi-sensei." Naruto points at Sasuke's gloved hand. "And Sakura. She's your soulmate, and it's tattooed on your skin, so you can't ignore her at least."

"Hn." Sasuke takes a swig of lukewarm water, pulls a face, and sets the bottle aside. He's quiet for a long moment, then says, "She deserves better than what I can give her."

"What, you think I haven't noticed that Hinata's too good for me?" Naruto asks, grinning. "But it's her choice to make if she wants to be with me. Not mine."

That night, Naruto holds Hinata close and tells her how thankful he is that she wants him. What he doesn't say is that he's never known this kind of love before, and sometimes he still has difficulty understanding why anyone would care for him at all. But her affection is the sweetest thing he's ever known, and it's slowly teaching him to accept the love he never thought he deserved.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving reviews, following, and favoriting. It's great to see this little story doing so well! And I appreciate your patience between updates this time. I lost a little momentum on this fic, but I think I've got it back now. Also, DeepPoeticGirl is the best for pre-reading this story!


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